This weekend in Dubai the first ever T100 triathlon world champions will be crowned and Britain’s India Lee knows that it will take something special to stop runaway leader Taylor Knibb.
American Knibb has a 13-point lead at the top of the women’s standings after making it three wins from three races in Las Vegas last month.
Australia’s Ashleigh Gentle is her closest challenger but Lee, who won the opening race of the tour in Miami eight months ago, is next in line.
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The Winchester athlete can leapfrog the top two with victory in Dubai on Saturday, so long as Knibb finishes outside the top seven and Gentle isn’t on the podium.
That is easier said than done, however, with Knibb unbeaten on the T100 Triathlon World Tour and the hot favourite to claim the £165,000 prize for winning the championship.
“Taylor’s been head and shoulders above the rest of us,” said Lee. “When she races, you know that she’s capable of a dominant performance.”
Gentle, a winner in both Singapore and London, can overtake Knibb if she wins in Dubai and her rival is third or worse – and skipped the Vegas race to save herself for the decider.
“Taylor is definitely the favourite, no doubt. She’s always the fiercest competitor,” she said. “I will have to be really aggressive. I have to be at my absolute best at the grand final.”
Despite her infallibility so far, Knibb has no intention of underestimating her opponents in what is likely to be the most competitive women’s triathlon of the year.
“It’s not over until it’s over. Everyone’s coming. You just never know who’s going to have their day,” said the Paris 2024 Olympic silver medallist.
“I’m always worried that something is going to happen in the last 50m. We’ve all seen how Ashleigh Gentle runs. That scares me a lot for Dubai.”
Van Riel’s to lose in men’s T100 title race
Any one of 14 could feasibly win the men’s T100 world championship – including British legend Alistair Brownlee – although Marten Van Riel has a commanding lead.
The Belgian heads the standings by 19 points after two wins and a runner-up finish from his three races on the tour, meaning he will clinch the title if he finishes third or better on Sunday.
British-born Sam Laidlow, who represents France, is in a four-strong chasing pack separated by five points and can top the standings in Dubai if he adds to his London win and Van Riel is fifth.
“I have been waiting for a while to really put my mark on triathlon. My time is now, I have to do it now,” said Van Riel.
“I’ve had a lot of good results. I was second in the World Championship, fourth in the Olympics. But those are all results that people forget very quickly.
“T100 is hopefully going to be one of the big names for many years to come, and to be the first one to win that series and become a world champion, that’s something that people won’t forget.”